MOBILE, Ala. - It was a long day yesterday, as the Pioneers
flew out of Memphis and through Atlanta before arriving in Mobile around 2:30
p.m.
Of course, Thursday night's win at
Arkansas State made every bit of the journey easier, and after a quick bite for
lunch at the hotel, the team was ready for practice at the Mitchell Center.
The Pioneers are staying in the same
hotel as the Northern Illinois football team, which is in town for tomorrow
night's GoDaddy.com Bowl, and many of their fans.
More than a couple of those fans seem
to have adopted Denver and said they were going to come this afternoon.
If not, like everyone else in Denver,
they can watch the action live on ESPN Full Court (available at most sports
bars) or on ESPN3.com.
Fatherly Dedication - Doug Hallam, the father of Chase and Travis,
was in Jonesboro, Ark., on Thursday and said he would see us again today. The drive
from Mesquite, Texas, to Arkansas State is eight hours. The trek from Arkansas
to Mobile is about the same. And the trip home is close to 10 hours.
Needless to say, Doug Hallam has been
spotted at roughly 90 percent of DU's games - home and road - since Travis started
playing four years ago.
Celebrity Spotting - While waiting for the plane in Atlanta, the
team spotted Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in an adjacent gate.
When an unnamed member of the travel
party asked for an autograph, the former Auburn Tiger gave him the Heisman,
which provided some entertainment during the two-hour layover.
It wasn't the first time the team has
run into a professional athlete on the road.
Gary Payton was waiting for a plane
when DU arrived at the Oakland airport in November. Of course, a few members of
the travel party felt considerably older when they realized some of the players
weren't old enough to remember The Glove's glory years with the Supersonics.
About Mobile - DU has not visited Mobile in two years,
but that doesn't mean the older guys on the team have forgotten the last time.
The Pioneers were up by 22 points on South Alabama's senior night in February
2010, but the Jaguars chipped away during the final 15 minutes and Tim Williams
hit the winning shot with seven seconds on the clock.
When we got on the bus for shoot around this morning, guess which game
was playing on the television monitors.
The looks on the faces of guys like Brian Stafford, Travis Hallam and
Chase Hallam suggested that the reminder was unnecessary.
They remember. And they want to leave Mobile for the last time with
fonder memories.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 11
Total Mileage by Air - 6,084
Total Mileage by Bus - 877
Total
Number of Hotels - 7
Total
Number of Different Airports - 10
Total
Number of Airline Delays - 4
Total
Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total
Number of Bags Lost - 4
Total
Number of States in the past 72 hours - 5 (Colorado,
Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama - with a layover in Texas coming on
the way home)
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